Luther

I've been trying to get to know Luther a little better. He has some great quotes.

I'm unsure of the source of this first one:

"For every look at your sin, take ten looks at the cross."

The next is from "A Meditation on Christ's Passion." It hit me hard:
"Of what help is it to you that God is God, if He is not God to you?"

Think about what it would mean if God were God to you: if God is holy, if God is sovereign, if God is your Redeemer, if God is the One who satisfies you. The list goes on. I know for me I wouldn't nearly be so worried, nor would I be so prone to turn to countless other things and people to fill me instead of God.

Luther also has a work called "The Two Types of Righteousness." Check this out:

Based on texts like 1 Cor. 1:30 and John 11:25-26, a Christian "can with confidence boast in Christ and say: 'Mine are Christ's living, doing, and speaking, his suffering and dying, mine as much as if I had lived, done, spoken, suffered, and died as he did.' Just as a bridegroom possesses all that is his bride's and she all that is his - for the two have all things in common because they are one flesh (Gen. 2:24) - so Christ and the church are one in spirit (Eph. 5:29-32)."

"This is an infinite righteousness, and one that swallows up all sins in a moment, for it is impossible that sin should exist in Christ. On the contrary, he who trusts in Christ exists in Christ; he is one with Christ, having the same righteousness as he."

By the way, I'm quoting from "Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings," edited by Timothy F. Lull. It's a great one-volume introduction to Luther.

Peace,
Sam